Source: Karinne Cortes, 785-532-4614, kcortes@vet.k-state.edu

Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010

POSTER PRESENTATION TO PROMOTE ONE HEALTH

MANHATTAN -- Two U.S. Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence are teaming up for a special poster presentation in the nation's capital.

The Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases at Kansas State University and the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense at Texas A&M University will jointly present One Health posters at the Farm Foundation Symposium in Washington, D.C., Sept. 23-24.

The posters are about the theme "One Health -- One Medicine -- One Environment," which reflects the interdisciplinary, all-inclusive approach of One Health’s principles of health and health care problem solving. Making the poster presentation for K-State will be Juergen Richt, Regents Distinguished Professor, Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar and director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases; Igor Morozov, department of pathobiology and diagnostic medicine; and Robert Kahn, a consultant.

The two-day interdisciplinary symposium's topic is "Zoonoses: Understanding the Animal Agriculture and Human Health Connection." The program is for a broad cross-section of people, including public health officials, veterinarians, physicians, virologists, agricultural producers, public policymakers and media representatives.

The conference program and registration information are available at http://www.farmfoundation.org.

The Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases and the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense both perform research and develop products that will defend the nation against high-consequence foreign animal and emerging/zoonotic diseases. Since at least 60 percent of all human pathogens originate in animals, the link between human medicine, veterinary medicine and the ecosystem is crucial for human health.

More information on the poster displays is available by contacting Karinne Cortes, K-State's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, at 785-532-4614 or kcortes@vet.k-state.edu; or Lori Olivarez, National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense at Texas A&M, 979-845-2855 or lrolivarez@ag.tamu.edu.

One Health is a concept endorsed by individuals recognized as thought leaders in public health policy. It promotes collaboration among veterinary, medical, and public health professionals based at institutions of higher education and within communities. One Health Kansas, based at K-State, is aligned with the One Health program. One Health Kansas promotes awareness and understanding of the interconnections among human, animal and environmental health. The outreach and education program is designed to help the citizens of Kansas understand and respond to emerging zoonotic diseases, globalization of the food system, blurring of the urban-suburban-rural interface, and many related challenges affecting the health of Kansas children and adults. One Health Kansas was developed by K-State in 2008 and is funded by the Kansas Health Foundation.